Bernard the Bard
Bernard the Bard is a legendary hero in the Rhoric regions of Drentae, and beyond. Bernard is an adventurer and many scholars believe it is the wide spread stories of Bernard that helped to shape the image of Rhum as a center for adventure and adventurers. Bernard himself is said to be the bastard son of a Rhoric woman raped by a Tanta Bosh man during a raid on her village. As he grew up, the people of his village, including his family (but not his mother) hated him as a reminder of the awful day when so many died in the raid. Rather than try to change their minds, Bernard walked off into the wilderness at age 15 and never went back. Bernard has been a fur trapper, a prospector, a soldier, and a bounty hunter, as well as an all-around good guy. He stands 6’5” and is described as having massive strength, but he is also a clever thinker and incredibly charismatic. He is unquestionably a woodsman and has always made his living in the frontier areas, outside of civilization. The stories of Bernard were created by Jurgan of Luffenheim, the owner of a trading post in the region now considered to be the Townships (considered between the Rocchairian Nation, Rhum and Snobist). Jurgan ran a trading post and did a good business with the fur trappers in the region, but he was looking for more and built a “mead hall”. To entertain within his mead hall, he began to tell the stories of Bernard the Bard and the legends and stories have grown from there. Over the last five centuries, Bernard has been the main character in just about every story and plot line in existence, but there are certain stories that are considered “canon”. Amongst the more popular stories is the one about how Bernard was captured by a tribe of ogre bandits, but he was so charming, that he convinced an ogre “princess” to adopt him as her son. At 6’5” he was considered a young adolescent amongst the ogres and passed as her child for nearly a year before he was able to escape, with most of the booty the ogres had stolen that last season. As might be expected from such a story, the Bernard tales are most often heavy on the action with a good dose of comedy thrown into the mix. Bernard was actually based on two men that Jurgan knew: Bernard of Balenecaise and Mott the Bosh. The real Bernard and Mott were at times friends, rivals, or partners, but no relationship between them seemed to last more than a year. Bernard was a huge Maril (6’1”) and contributed the cleverness, wit and charisma to the character. Mott was a 6’5” Tanta Bosh and contributed the stories of Bernard’s great strength. Mott is believed to have fought off a bear with a fighting knife and a log from his fire pit, wearing the fur as a coat for many years afterwards. While everyone knows the stories of Bernard the Bard, very few know how closely he is related to these two historic (real) figures. While those from the area believe Bernard to have actually lived (in the person of Bernard of Balencaise), those from other cultures see Bernard as nothing more than a tall tale grown by wilderness men out of folly. The truth is somewhere in the middle of these two points. Category:Legends Category:Rhum Category:Wilderness Category:Ballogfar